Psychoanalysis On and Off the Couch

“The skin disorder got worse every springtime coinciding with the time of the death of his father.”

 

Harvey Schwartz welcomes Dr. Jorge Ulnik, who is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association. Dr. Ulnik has devoted his professional career to the mind-body interface especially as it expresses itself in psychosomatic conditions and even more focused in the world of dermatology. He writes about the psychoanalytic approach to dermatology for medical journals and has lectured around the world on this subject. He has published 22 papers in Spanish in addition to 7 book chapters in 2 books and his latest book in English, called Skin in Psychoanalysis.

 

In this episode, Dr. Ulnik talks about his extensive experience in this area, his work with individual patients and the conceptual thought that backs up this clinical approach.

 

Key takeaways:

[3:05] The contributions of psychoanalysis to dermatology.

[4:49] Parallelism between the functions of the skin and the ego.

[5:10] Joint consultation.

[7:11] Integration challenges.

[8:28] Treating psychosomatic skin disorders.

[10:22] A case where integration was successful.

[13:56] The emotional background of Dr. Ulnik’s patients.

[14:15] Lack of touch.

[14:45] The gaze: being seen through a skin disorder.

[17:05] Being seen and being known.

[18:40] Dr. Ulnik talks about formal representations.   

[20:31] Access to affect in psychosomatic patients.

[21:20] Action v.s. words.

[22:30] Intense suffering as a result of feeling certain emotions.

[24:20] The skin as a mirror to project emotional pain.

[25:06] Skin patients need to be touched.

[27:40] When analysts take on the sense of darkness.

[30:25] Threat of being cured from a skin disease and instead becoming disorganized or going crazy.

[31:37] Interchangeability of somatic symptoms.

[33:17] Localization of lesions in the body.

[34:58] Finding order when the nonsense is commanding the situation.

[35:40] Humor and metaphor as splendid tools to work with in psychoanalysis.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

IPA Off the Couch www.ipaoffthecouch.org

 

Recommended Reading:

Connor, Steven. The Book of Skin. Reaktion books, London, 2004.

 

Lemma A. Under the Skin. A Psychoanalytic Study of Body Modification. London: Routledge; 2010.

 

Schur M. Comments on the metapsychology of somatization. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 10: 63-68.1955.

 

Ulnik, J. Skin in Psychoanalysis. Routledge, London 2007

“A psychoanalytic consultant is really the enemy of people ignoring the role that the unconscious has in their lives, just denying that there is an unconscious effect on their rationally selected behavior. I strongly believe that the interferences from the unconscious can be minimized by a consultant, just as we can minimize the irrational influence on patients in our work with mental illness.”

 

Description: Steven S. Rolfe welcomes Dr. David Sachs to this episode. Dr. David Sachs is the Clinical Professor of Mental Health Sciences Emeritus, at Hahnemann University and a training and supervisory analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia. He was chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association Committee on New Training Facilities from 1976 to 1984, Vice President of the APA from 1995 to 1997, and IPA New Training and Facilities member and chair from 1993 to 2012.

 

Dr. David Sachs is one of our pioneers, he has worked off the couch from a relatively early time in his career and we will hear today about how his interest in business and organizational consulting grew and was deeply influenced by his training and experience as a psychoanalyst.

 

Key takeaways:

[3:15] How Dr. David Sachs’ training and experience prepared him to consult with businesses.

[4:00] Analyst’s skills applied to consulting with people in the business world.

[5:17] How Dr. Sachs views have shifted about Psychoanalysis over the years.

[7:03] Difference between analysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy in consulting to businesses.

[9:10] How Dr. Sachs colleagues responded to his interest in applied psychoanalysis.

[14:40] Example in which Dr. Sachs applied psychoanalytic ideas to a corporate consultation.

[21:04] How Dr. Sachs consulting experience has influenced his career as a psychoanalyst.

[22:15] Supervision similarities in business consulting and psychoanalysis.

[24:52] Kind of problems Dr. Sachs has addressed as a consultant.

[29:40] Psychoanalytic business consulting provides people the opportunity to discover hidden irrational interest that prevent them from reaching their goals.

[32:08] Dr. Sachs’ thoughts about the future for applied psychoanalysis.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

IPA Off the Couch www.ipaoffthecouch.org

 

Recommended Readings:

Esman, Aaron, "What is Applied in Applied Psychoanalysis”, 1988 International Journal of Psycho-Anal79:741-752

 

Sachs, David , “Lost Leaders: A Psychoanalytic Business Consultation”.In The Perverse Transference and Other Matters  Ed  Jorge Ahumada, Jorge Olagara, Arlene Kramer Richards Arnold D Richards.  Jason Aronson Press. 2009

 

Sachs, David “The Patient as a Universe of One”. In Schon,Donald The Reflective Practitioner, Basic Books, Inc 1983

 

Zaleznik, A., Executive's guide to understanding people: How Freudian Theory can turn Good Executives into Better Leaders, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

 

Zaleznik, A., The Managerial Mystique: Restoring Leadership in Business, New York: Harper & Row, 1989

 

Zaleznik, A., Hedgehogs and Foxes : Character, Leadership, and Command in Organizations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

 

 

 

Harvey Schwartz welcomes Dr. Ilan Amir, who is a psychiatrist and a training and supervising psychoanalyst at the Israeli Psychoanalytic Society and is a lecturer at the Tel Aviv University Psychotherapy Program. As you will hear in today’s interview, Dr. Amir reveals himself to be an analyst quite capable both of deep immersion in the personal intimacy of long-term clinical treatment of patients, as well as someone who values the careful study of the utility of those treatments.

Harvey Schwartz welcomes, as the first guest of IPA Off The Couch, Virginia Ungar, current President of the International Psychoanalytic Association. She specializes in child and adolescent analysis and was the former chair of the IPA’s child and adolescent psychoanalysis committee as well as chair of the committee for integrative training. In this first episode, you will learn first hand about her vision for our field and for our future.